A recent change in Minnesota’s rules regarding service of a lawsuit on a party, and filing the lawsuit with the court, has been somewhat controversial. Formerly a plaintiff and a defendant could litigate between themselves without any court filing or court involvement until one of them decided to file the lawsuit with a court. There was no requirement that the lawsuit ever be filed with a court.
Courtesy of the Minnesota Supreme Court, the new rule requires that lawsuits be filed with a court within one year of service of the lawsuit. Otherwise it will be dismissed with prejudice when/if it is filed. Long ago, I predicted that this would result in potential malpractice claims for lawyers who miss this significant rule change.
The ruling against Plaintiff Zimmerle seems severe and unfortunate. But the lawsuit was a personal injury lawsuit arising from Ms. Zimmerle’s dropping a dance pole on her foot when removing it from packaging. While it would be callous to make light of her injury, this is not a case likely to gnaw at the consciences of the deciding judges or trigger public outrage.